Chapter Ninety-Four: The Asylum Prison

Room 4.

Willow fluff drifted in the air, her feet fluttering back and forth, chin lifted high, the pale skin of her neck marked clearly by the tightening grip of five fingers.

[Sniff, sniff… Big Waves was the first to uncover the rule here. The fallen ones in the rules will kill anyone who learns the secret. Sigh, Fang Tang, you’re supposed to be the top dog in the Underworld, you should be taking the lead. How could you let someone else discover the secret first? As your old partner, I’m embarrassed for you.

But if you want to save Big Waves, you have to know the secret. Since you haven’t discovered the rule yet, only I can tell you. What a hassle! This is the last time, though. You’ll have to explore the next area on your own—I’ll only provide support. That way, you’ll grow quickly, understand?

The rule of the fourth floor is called The Secret That Must Not Be Spoken. What the secret is, you’ll have to find out for yourself.]

As Fang Tang read the rule of the fourth floor, his vision suddenly went dark and a tall, charred fallen one appeared before him.

With a metallic clang, he drew the Summer Dragon Sparrow. Twin reverse blades shot out instantly, flying toward the fallen one.

The fallen one sensed Fang Tang as well. With a furious roar, it tossed Willow Fluff aside and charged to meet Fang Tang’s assault.

“Willow Fluff, go alert the captain!”

Fang Tang shouted to her as he swung the Summer Dragon Sparrow solidly into the fallen one’s body.

Willow Fluff clutched her throat, coughing violently. She nodded with difficulty, scrambled to her feet, and fled the room in panic.

Yet the moment she stepped outside, she ran straight into another identical fallen one. Her face went pale at once.

“There’s another one out here!”

Fang Tang’s brow furrowed. In the midst of a desperate struggle with the fallen one, he caught sight of the creature at the door out of the corner of his eye, and realization dawned.

The twisted rule of the fourth floor was the secret that must not be spoken.

The moment the secret was revealed, the fallen ones would swarm to kill the speaker.

This fallen one was not especially strong, but with the power of the rules, it became nearly unstoppable—and endless in number, continuing on until all who knew the secret were dead.

“I’ll handle these two—you go tell the captain privately. He’ll know how to deal with these fallen ones.”

The moment Fang Tang clashed with the creature, he knew it was beyond his ability to defeat. Its charred skin was as tough as cast metal—the Summer Dragon Sparrow and the reverse blades could only strike sparks, leaving not even a scratch.

He tried every technique he knew, but none worked. Only Liu Yiran’s sequence talent—Corrosion—could affect it.

Willow Fluff hurried to find Liu Yiran and whispered the secret to him.

Liu Yiran narrowed his eyes at her words, then looked up toward the doorway.

There, too, stood an identical fallen one.

Liu Yiran nodded. “Leave it to me. And don’t tell anyone else.”

He approached the fallen one at a measured pace, fingers curling into a fist, and struck.

With a dull thud, the creature’s abdomen was instantly corroded, leaving a gaping hole.

Sixth-tier, seventh-stage evolutionary level, combined with the power of Sequence 123: Corrosion—Liu Yiran’s punch was devastating.

The fallen one dropped to its knees. Liu Yiran reached for its head.

Moments later, the creature crumbled into dust.

Willow Fluff was astonished by Liu Yiran’s strength, and also delighted to have such a powerful captain.

Liu Yiran glanced at the hallway, where Fang Tang was still fighting another fallen one, and smiled as he sauntered over.

“All your sequence talents are head-on types. When you meet an opponent with high defense and a higher level than you, you get overwhelmed.”

He smiled as he spoke.

“Easy for you to say,” Fang Tang shot back irritably. “So what should I do?”

“There’s nothing you can do. You’ll have to work on advancing your evolutionary level. High-tiers have a natural advantage over lower-tiers—no sequence talent can make up for that gap.”

As he spoke, Liu Yiran pressed his hand to the fallen one’s back.

The creature, as if made of clay, began to crumble piece by piece onto the floor.

With only one fallen one remaining, Fang Tang felt the pressure lift. He cocked his head at Liu Yiran.

“You’re at the seventh stage of the sixth tier. How long did you spend in the twisted rules?”

“More than twenty-four hours,” Liu Yiran replied with a slight smile.

Fang Tang whistled in disbelief.

Over twenty-four hours—that meant continuous time, not accumulated in bits and pieces. In other words, Liu Yiran had endured six debuffs at once.

What a ruthless man!

Fang Tang wondered if he should hunt for a twisted rule and stay inside for more than twenty-four hours himself. If he survived, he’d be just as formidable.

It was worth a try!

After Liu Yiran finished off the third fallen one, he clapped his hands easily. “You’re much stronger than when we last met. Did you visit the Underworld Store again?”

“What do you mean?” Fang Tang asked, puzzled.

Liu Yiran gave him a meaningful look, then suddenly remarked, “Such a fat sheep—don’t be so conspicuous in the future.”

With that, Liu Yiran turned and strode away, leaving Fang Tang alone to puzzle over his words.

He couldn’t make sense of it.

The problem was, there wasn’t enough information. He couldn’t find the key point. But if he asked Liu Yiran, it was clear he wouldn’t say more.

“Another riddle-monger,” Fang Tang laughed softly.

He’d barely taken two steps when a suffocating aura pressed in from behind.

He could only sigh in resignation.

“Captain, the fight’s not over yet.”

“What?” Liu Yiran turned in surprise, and when he saw the three towering fallen ones behind Fang Tang, his brow knit in frustration.

“Is this never going to end?”

Fang Tang shrugged. “You know how it is—rules.”

Liu Yiran fell silent for a moment. “These fallen ones always operate logically within the rules. We must identify the logic chain to eradicate them. The secret that must not be spoken… it seems this fallen one is guarding something… No, not a thing!

It’s the truth. The fallen ones fear the truth getting out, so they kill everyone who might uncover it, ensuring no one ever learns it.

But what truth could a psychiatric hospital possibly hide? It’s baffling…”

“Fang Tang, gather everyone together. We need to study all the information about this hospital and find the hidden truth. Once we uncover the logic chain, we can break it and eliminate this fallen one for good.”

Fang Tang couldn’t help but marvel at Liu Yiran’s words. Being led to victory by someone so experienced was truly exhilarating.

“Take care of yourself,” Fang Tang advised Liu Yiran, then gathered the remaining five members together.

“The captain and I have found the rule on the fourth floor, but we can’t tell you—otherwise, we’d be in serious trouble.”

He looked at the four others, including Xu Lin, and continued, “Share what information you’ve found. We must quickly find the logic chain and break it; only then can we move on to the fourth floor.”

Xu Lin glanced at Liu Yiran, who was pacing the corridor, and spoke gravely, “I’ve realized this place isn’t a real hospital, but a prison masquerading as a psychiatric research facility—an underground site for studying evolutionaries.”